Has anyone dove with Beaches Turk & Caicos?

[lmorin]

Probably has to do more with where they took you diving than what week it was - where did you dive? Probably not a fair representation of the better diving in T&C.

I agree with that assessment. It tends to be true for the Club Med diving also. At one time, they ran an all day, 3 tank trip to West Caicos?? for advanced divers only, but the last I knew (3-4 yrs ago), it had stopped.

As far as the Club Med in T&C being a meat market, it is what you make of it.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Probably has to do more with where they took you diving than what week it was - where did you dive? Probably not a fair representation of the better diving in T&C.

Looking back, I dove at the following sites: Two Sharks, Pinnacles, Amphitheater, North West Wall, Pirannah Cove. I am willing to accept that my week may have been a bad week for wildlife (as stated in my original post). Any dive that I surface from safely is a good dive IMO. But, for whatever reason, these dives did not have me craving a return visit which for me is odd. IIRC I did really enjoy the Amphitheater. I have been told that Provo's diving is not quite as spectacular as the other islands (in T&C) so I wrote it off as that (right or wrong).

 

[IslandBreeze]

I guess I should have mentioned that this is NOT our dive vacation. We got to Cozumel 3x a year for that. This is go to an AI to be pampered and oh ya, there's diving. We don't expect the diving to be as good as Coz but it's there on site and free.

We've been to Roatan and not interested in the Caymans. $2185 versus $799 for the same hotel, diving & meal package. Nope can't justify that. Best way to Belize from Toronto is via Roatan which is via a puddle jump and two airport exit fees. Not interested in that. Or in a live aboard as I get motion sickness and can just deal with the short boat rides for the dives.

As I said this is go to be pampered and hey there happens to be free diving too. It seems only Sandals & Couples offers that. Been to both but would like to try T&C. Only one there is Beaches which is the family version of Sandals. Ya alot of kids but it is 5* and Sandals best diving in the whole Caribbean.

I am looking for someone who has been there. Not offer alternatives because I don't think there is anything. But thanks anyway.

Betty

ScubaPro Response

Beaches Turks & Caicos is our favorite resort and we have been there several times. My wife is actually heading back at the end of August and again in October.


Carol Potter is the dive shop manager and she has a great staff. If anyone wants to ask her questions or if you have divers with special needs, its good to contact her ahead of time. Beaches Turks & Caicos dive team has gone a step further to enable disabled guests by receiving their Handicap Scuba Association (HSA) certification. Being disabled military, thats kind of a nice feature for me. Speaking of that, military active, reserves, retired, ect get a 10 percent discount.


BettyInToronto - I would recommend that you book the Parrot Cay One Bedroom Honeymoon Suite (H1) and have your travel agent request suite 719 or 720. The reason being is this these two suites are right behind the dive shop & instruction pool and just forward of that are the dive boats. These two suites are also second floor with a nice balcony. And the light fixtures on the balconies are sturdy enough to hang your BC to dry. Plus these two suites have a decent view of Grace Bay. I have pictures of the view if someone wants to see them. The trick to getting one of these suites is to contact the sales manager (Tanya Swann) and the zone manager (Rommel Forbes) on property. Of course its always subject to availability but a little advanced lobbying goes a long way.


If you have family that likes to snorkel - make sure you check out some gear from the dive shack, head to the water and turn left - go down the beach about 300 yards to the reef in front of Coral Gardens. From the shore, you can wade right in and see some of the most amazing sea life and some StingRays once in a while. It is a protected reef though so dont go inside the clearly marked area. JoJo the Dolphin, also frequents that area of the Bay too. He's legendary down there.
But if you head down early in the morning....say - 9am, you might see one of the large Sea Turtles swimming through.
They are very curious and will swim right up to you at times! I have spent countless hours on that reef system - love it there!

 

[ScubaDubaDave]

Keep in mind that pretty much all the independent dive ops on Provo will pick you up from any hotel in Grace Bay area so it's easy to use another if you don't mind paying the extra $$$. I recall being on the Caicos Adventures bus a few years ago picking up divers from Beaches. Diving at Northwest Point last week was good as was French Key and West Caicos. We did see reef sharks each day.